Marriage is Murder

Jim stood and watched shaking his haed as he saw Biran disappear into the shop opasite he wished he'd get over it but knew sometimes letting it drop was the best option. He puffed two more times then put out his pipe as he walked over to the shop. " you know you spoil that girl " he said chukaling as he too saw a shawl with sparkles on it and felt it would be good for Margaret as she had been feleing down the last few days as he'd been away too long. Picking it up he moved to the counter paid for it and had it shipped out to her knowing it would make her happy.

"nice choice" he said and looked at the shawl he held " that dress would look good too with it" he said pointing to a light chiffon dress that had diamonti cristals sewn into the bodice. Jim took it down and showed him smiling. "You know Fiona is waiting for us to come back, besides I would like to finish my ale" he added with a smirk as he moved back to the door.

"Thank you. I think it will look good on Khaat. You go ahead and go back with Fi--please," Brian said. "I want to spoil Khaat a bit. You go back with Fi and finish your lunch and your ale. I'm more interested in Khaat than I am in food. I won't be long. That will give you and Fi time to finish. Besides, as strong and as capable as Fi is, I'd like not to leave her alone too long. Its just not the right thing to do in a foreign country. I won't be more than a few minutes."

He thought he really was done shopping for her but then he saw some other things he liked. "I'll hurry," he said with a slight smile. "What's the point in having someone you love in your life if you can't show them you love them every so often? She doesn't ask me for much, and I like surprising her. Give me 5 more minutes and I'll join you back in the pub. I promise."

Jim could not help but chuckle as he heard Brian " ow I hear ya mate" he said and looked back to the pub. " sure we might find something to talk about" he said and chuckled as he walked to the door way and stopped as he turned to face him he smiled "okay make sure its five or Im coming after you" he said and walked back into the pub and over to Fiona where he sat down.


"Hes buying out the shop" he siad and chuckled " I wouldn't worry about him, hes okay" he said sipping the ale as he sat facing her. " Ireland seems a nice place , my first visit." he said softly " I wasn't with Robert when they came last I was other wise indisposed" he said softly.

"I'm glad he has her. I rather thought he was done with people, period. But he does seem to live and breathe for her. Have you seen her closet? I thought she was just a clotheshorse. But I've noticed he buys for her more than she buys for herself. I've never seen a man buy for a woman like that. And truth be told, I'm not sure how he knows what to buy for her, but he does seem to pick some lovely things for her." She smiled slightly. "Maybe I need to have him buy me a new wardrobe."

Brian, meanwhile, was just piling things on the counter at the shop. Summer things, fall things, winter things, accessories, scarves, jewelry,....He was pleased at the things they specialized in for thin, petite people. They looked, to him, like they were going to be a perfect fit for her.

And then he saw the shoes. He knew how she loved stilettos. He drew his wand and simply accio'd one of each style of the stilettos in her size. The shopkeeper called two attendants out who began bagging his purchases as quickly as he could summon them to the counter.

He plunked down his charge card, and they rang him up, handing him several of their business cards--in case he lost one. They appeared pleased at the hundreds of galleons he'd spent in just a few minutes.

Fi looked at her watch. It had been ten minutes. "Give him just a couple more minutes," she said, laying several galleons on the table to pay for all three lunches and all three ales, with a generous tip. She enjoyed being able to pay the bill once in awhile. "Hopefully, he knows when to stop shopping. How many shopping bags do you think he'll have? Wanna set a wager on it?"

Jim smiled as she spoke of Brian and Khaat " well he and her seem perfect for each other" he said and smiled " well ask him Im sure he would " he said finishing his ale as he sat with Fiona. After ten minets even Jim became concerned and placed his glass down and looked back at the shop " he'll send them ahead knowing him so no bags if he does it will be a smal one " Jim said standing once more and lighting his pipe as he stood at the doorway watching the shop hoping he would not have to go in and get him.


Jim looked back at fiona then back to the shop "I didn't know you were a wagering person Fiona?" he asked smiling a little as he looked at her. " I wager a bottle of this ale that he comes back having bought out the shop?" he said blowing smoke out of the door.

"Well, I might as well pay for that right now," she laughed. "That's a no brainer." She plunked down the galleon to cover the ale. She saw Jim was clock watching. "You really do need to relax, though. Its obvious you have all the patience of a gnat, but give him a few minutes. He's just trying to do something nice for his wife. Why are you so edgy today? I thought you were more flexible and easy going than this. Is there some sort of a problem you didn't tell us about before we left?"

Brian finished his shopping and shrank his packages and ranked all the packages into one large shopping bag. It just about filled his shopping bag with all the shrunken ones. He was pleased with himself. Now she had no excuse for keeping her maternity clothes, or any of the outdated clothes that she had hung onto because they were comfortable--like old friends. And, he fully intended to make sure she had no more of his clothes in her closet. It wasn't that she wasn't welcome to wear them, but they certainly weren't flattering on her. They did her figure no favors. No--it was time for her closet to get a fashionable update, and he had just what she needed. He finished his shopping and made his way back across the street to the pub.

Jim looked at Fiona and sighed " sorry guess I don't, its just every time hes out of our sight something happens to ether him or Khaat and since shes not here its a given it will be him." he said puffing his pipe again he could not help but chuckle " and yes I guess I do have the patience of a gnat, as you elequently put it." he loked back at her and smiled taking a deep breath of his pipe and he nodded to her.


" I should relax hes among kins men here" he said as he noted Brian walking back across to the pub " so leave anything on the racks?" he asked chukaling as he again puffed his pipe. Tapping out the tobbaco on the wall he stood up straight as he watched him. He took out several coins as he waitied to hear Brians responce.

"Most of it, actually," Brian said. "She's going to have to let me finally get rid of those maternity clothes and some of the old stuff she was still wearing ten years ago. Not to mention some of my stuff I was wearing ten years ago that she's swiped and put in her closet because she likes the way they smell. She does not need to look like a football player or smell like a locker room."

"You don't get it, do you?" Fi said. She saw Jim with a fistful of coins. "I already paid the tab, Jim. Unless you're buying ale to take home, you can put your money away." She looked back at Brian. "Women like the scents of the men they love."

"That dirty sock smell?" he frowned.

"No, stupid. The leather and tobacco and bourbon and aftershave smell."

"I don't want her to smell like my aftershave," he scowled. "That's why I buy her bottles and bottles of perfume."

"You truly don't get it," she said, laughing. "You aren't done being a newlywed enough to get it, are you?"

"Barely a year and a half," Brian said. "When do I stop being a newlywed, anyway?"

Jim nodded and slipepd the coins away into his pocket. He loked at Brian and listened to Fiona and he chuckled. "Every woman loves how there man smells, margaret has an old shirt of mine she wears to bed when Im not there, it givens them a sence of comfort, as if your there with them when your not, its in the pheramones lad." he said and chuckled looking to Fiona. as she continued Jim smiled again. "Some of us never stop being newly weds." he said " Margaret and I have been married about ten years and we still act like newly weds when were togther." he spoke soflty as a slight pink tindge came to his cheeks rembering the last time they were togther and alone.


" sorry, was thinking of her in that shirt, happens every time" he said to Fiona and smirked as he slipped his pipe into his pocket and folded his arms across his chest and chuckled to Brian. " you should feel happy she wants to smell like you" he said patting Brians back lightly " take it as a sign she truly loves you" he said moving to pick up an un opened bottle of ale " now I know steven and Jack will never forgive me if I don't bring some back" he grinned at him.

Brian saw Jim blush when he talked about private time with his wife. Brian hadn't even been thinking about those moments. As much as those moments were nice, Brian's marriage to Khaat wasn't built on it. It wasn't what he'd married her for. He had married her because he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with her--no matter what.

And he'd seen plenty of rough patches with her already. There had been a lot of time when there hadn't been the ability to have any private time for any reason. And the reasons why that time had been taken from them seemed to be endless.

"Khaat and I don't get much time alone," Brian said. "Its just an impossibility sometimes. Maybe I'm just trying to make up for that in other ways."

"You've always done a good job taking care of her and your kids," Fi told him. "She knows. Alright--before we all get ridiculously mushy, we'd better get home and get back to work. Angus has had a tough night. He's not going to be getting the guest house ready for anyone, so we'd better get on that."

"Agreed," Brian said. "Are we all ready to go home and get our afternoons started?"